by Mars Gravity
————————————
At the same time. Illusory Demon Realm, Southeastern Region.
The normally quiet and peaceful mountain range had presently been transformed into a sea of fire. Startling explosions ripped through the air; they were so loud that they could be clearly heard within a fifty kilometer radius. The nearby mountains shook violently and seemed to be on the verge of collapse as boulders tumbled through the air.
“Duke Ming, you reprehensible traitor, stop resisting and accept your fate!!”
Mu Feiyan, Mu Yubai, Su Xiangnan and Lin Guiyan exerted all of their strength, profound light exploding from their bodies and their faces flushed red from the effort, as they tried their best to surround one man… Besides the four of them, there were still another eight people prowling in the background, waiting and preparing for the moment their prey attempted to escape the encirclement. Each and every one of these eight people was on the same level as a grand elder of a Guardian Family.
Any one of these twelve people could be counted amongst the most powerful practitioners within the Illusory Demon Realm. Such a startling array of strength had been assembled, all for the sake of one person…
Because that person was Duke Ming!!
“Hahahaha, you vermin think that you are worthy enough to force this duke to submit!?”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
When it came to desperate battles at the level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, every single profound energy explosion would contain earth-shattering might. As the battle raged on, the land in a hundred kilometer radius of the fight had been completely devastated, countless profound beasts were buried before they could even react to their demise.
Duke Ming had used the blood escape to flee from Demon Imperial City at that time, but that also caused him to lose a lot of his blood essence, greatly injuring his vitality. After that, he was constantly fleeing for his life, and he could barely find a moment to catch his breath. Given the power that Duke Ming had previously, even if Mu Feiyan and the others combined their strength, all four of them would still have tasted bitter defeat at his hands. But right now, they could actually suppress Duke Ming and prevent him from fleeing.
“Duke Ming, you old villain! This old man was truly befuddled and confused all those years ago! To think that I believed you instead of the Demon King, holding your words as truth and his words as false… Today, this old man needs to bury you personally!!” Mu Feiyan roared in fury as he and Mu Yubai forged an enormous ice-cold domain; Duke Ming was being assaulted by unending shards of ice every single second, and many bloody wounds had been gouged in his body.
“You want to bury this duke!? Hahahahaha… I will bury you first!!”
Duke Ming’s expression turned sinister as a wild laugh tore from his throat. His entire body suddenly glowed with a bloody light, and two enormous skulls made of red-black flames suddenly coalesced in the air above them before fiercely descending down from above.
“Patriarch Mu, be careful!!”
These were flame devils conjured by Duke Ming, so they possessed an incomparably terrifying might. Su Xiangnan’s heart was jolted by shock and he swiftly changed his angle of attack, a hundred thousand sword shadows instantly congealing into one sword as it thrust towards the flame devils, wild gales howling in its wake.
“Divine Wind Sword!!”
But as the two flame devils descended, they changed their trajectory midair. They no longer targeted Mu Feiyan, but rushed towards Lin Guiyan instead.
Boom!!
It would be extremely hard for Lin Guiyan to even fend off one flame devil, much less two of them. Lin Guiyan’s face blanched as he tried to endure the full might of the assault, but after a single breath, he let out a miserable cry as he was engulfed by crimson black flames. In the next instant, the attack had sent him flying, blood spraying in the air as he went.
Riip!!
Su Xiangnan’s Divine Wind Sword had opened a hole in Duke Ming’s shoulder, a bloody, gaping wound that one could see through. But the four man encirclement had been blasted wide open. Duke Ming had to eat this attack, but he let out a wild laugh instead as he took his opportunity to swiftly flee.
“Dammit… hurry up and restrain him!!” Mu Yubai roared.
The moment Mu Yubai yelled, the eight grand elders that had been lurking in the shadows simultaneously rushed towards Duke Ming. But Duke Ming had long been prepared for this moment, even before he had broken out of his encirclement. Before the two closest grand elders neared him, two clusters of crimson black flames suddenly exploded from his palms, their terrifying might instantly shattering the nearby space into fragments.
A wounded tiger was still a tiger after all. Duke Ming had been the strongest person in the entire Illusory Demon Realm at one point, so even though he had lost a lot of blood essence, causing his profound strength to fall dramatically, a grand elder from a Guardian Family would still find it exceedingly hard to restrain him.
Amidst the huge explosions, both of the Mu Family’s grand elders were tossed aside like ragdolls. By the time they had managed to regain control of their bodies, Duke Ming’s wild laughter already echoed from several hundred meters away.
“Shit… chase him! Quickly! It was really hard for us to pin down his location in the first place, so this time, we can’t let him escape no matter what!!” Mu Feiyan yelled shrilly. The Little Demon Empress had given them a time limit three months ago, and if they were not able to capture Duke Ming within three months, they would all have to sever a finger in apology.
Boom!
A dull and heavy explosion suddenly rang out in the distance as a golden light illuminated heaven and earth. Duke Ming’s wild laughter was abruptly cut off, and what replaced it was a miserable scream of pain.
Bang!!
Duke Ming was fiercely smashed from the air to the ground, a cluster of golden flames slowly burning on his chest. He rolled on the ground in pain as all of the crimson black flames on his body desperately surged forth. It took several seconds before they could finally suppress and extinguish those golden flames. He raised his head to the sky, and his eyes showed a fear that he had rarely displayed in his lifetime.
A figure clad in rainbow colors slowly descended from the air above. Her figure was petite and delicate, her exquisite features were so beautiful that they would cause the sun and the moon to lose their luster, but those delicate, slanted brows held an incomparable dignity and majesty that caused all to tremble before her.
Her appearance seemed to cause the entire world to stop in place, and even the sound of the roaring flames had completely disappeared.
Chapter 766: Crippling Duke Ming
“Li… Little Demon Empress!” Duke Ming held a hand to his chest, his entire body trembling uncontrollably… he had been strong enough to arrogantly look down upon the entire world, so he did not want to display fear in front of anyone, but right now his body betrayed him as it shivered uncontrollably…
Because his body had clearly felt the approach of death itself.
The moment Lin Guiyan, who had been sorely wounded by Duke Ming, saw the Little Demon Empress, he ignored the blood streaming from his mouth as he hurriedly knelt down to the ground and said in a quavery voice, “I greet the Little Demon Empress!!”
The ones who had been marked with the Slave Imprint had all become the loyal dogs of the Little Demon Empress.
“We greet the Little Demon Empress.”
All of those present paid their respects to her. Mu Feiyan quickly strode forward, bowing towards her as he said, “With the Little Demon Empress personally taking a hand in this, Duke Ming will find it hard to flee even if he suddenly grows wings!” His eyes swiveled towards Duke Ming and he barked out a furious command, “Restrain the traitor!!”
Before the words had even finished escaping his lips, Mu Yubai, Su Xiangnan and the eight grand elders moved in unison, but this time, a clear and indifferent voice rang across the intervening space, “Withdraw,
nobody is allowed to interfere.”
A shudder passed through Mu Yubai and the others. They ground to a halt in panic and began to scramble backwards.
It was clear that the Little Demon Empress wanted to kill Duke Ming herself… to use his blood to quench the hatred and need for vengeance of the Illusory Demon Imperial Family.
Even though Duke Ming was strong, given the Little Demon Empress’ current strength, killing him would be as easy as swatting a fly.
Right before this, the world had been filled with explosions that seemed to come from hell itself but right now, that same world was deathly silent. The Little Demon Empress’ eyes bored into Duke Ming, her flat and emotionless expression bearing no trace of rage or indignation, no signs of joy or sorrow. Yet everyone who was present felt a pressure building up in their hearts and souls and found it hard to even breathe.
“Huan Caiyi…” The terrifying silence caused Duke Ming to feel as if his chest was about to explode. In the end, he could no longer endure it and croaked out hoarsely, “This duke… really regrets deciding not to simply kill you one hundred years ago!”
“Hmph, you’re about to die yet you still dare to spout such arrogance!” Mu Feiyan rebuked him furiously.
The Little Demon Empress did not say anything, and she also did not get agitated by Duke Ming. She slowly and gently raised her petite and exquisite little hand, her tender white palm pointed in Duke Ming’s direction.
This simple gesture of hers caused Duke Ming’s pupils to suddenly contract. He let out a fierce and desperate howl, both his palms thrusting outwards as all of the profound energy in his body crazily surged forth. Fallen Devil Flames raged throughout the sky as Duke Ming thrust them towards the Little Demon Empress with a yell.
If the extremely dense Fallen Devil Flames released their full might, they were able to reduce a city to ashes within a matter of minutes.
The Little Demon Empress’ face did not even twitch; it remained completely emotionless, but a golden light flashed in the center of her brows. She pushed her little hand forward lightly and a brilliant golden light covered the sky. Golden Crow flames began igniting furiously as they moved against the Fallen Devil Flames. Every time the terrifying and sinister Fallen Devil Flames came into contact with the Golden Crow flames, they reacted in the same way as a devil touched by holy light. The Fallen Devil Flames let out an ear-piercing shriek, trying to flee away as they were distorted and quickly consumed…
“Hahahahahaha…” Duke Ming’s hoarse and wild laughter could be heard behind the cover of the Fallen Devil Flames, “Huan Caiyi… you think that you are able to kill this duke… stop dreaming!!”
Pfft!!
A large cloud of blood violently sprayed out from Duke Ming’s mouth, the blood mist fell from the sky and poured over him, causing his entire body to slowly become transparent as he began to… disappear within the bloody mist.
“It is the Blood Escape!!” Mu Yubai yelled in shock. During that time in the Demon Imperial City, Duke Ming had used this marvelous and strange Blood Escape to slip through the Little Demon Empress’ grasp.
The Fallen Devil Flames that Duke Ming had used to attack the Little Demon Empress at full force were only to obstruct her. His real motive had been to pull the same trick once more, and run away using the Blood Escape… the Blood Escape was conjured by spending blood essence, but using it also came with disastrous consequences. If it was not a life-or-death scenario, he definitely would not even contemplate using it. Moreover, the two times that he did use it were when he was facing the Little Demon Empress… because if he did not pay this terrible price, the only outcome waiting for him would be a miserable death!
“Hmph!!”
The Little Demon Empress’ eyes, which were brighter and more beautiful than a full moon, narrowed slightly. She gave a faint but cold snort as the flames all around her flashed and in an instant, they pierced through the layered Fallen Devil Flames. She sketched a small gesture with her hand as she pointed towards the location where Duke Ming had just vanished from.
When they had searched the hidden sanctuary that had been buried underneath Duke Huai Palace, they had also managed to find the forbidden Blood Escape technique. And given the long period of time that she had to study the technique, she had already grasped its entirety. Therefore, Duke Ming was the person who was dreaming if he thought that he could use the Blood Escape to flee from the Little Demon Empress once more.
Bang!!!
Flames exploded everywhere as the very air itself was explosively torn apart. Amidst the exploding spatial fragments they could see Duke Ming, who had already disappeared, being hurled screaming back out. His body smashed heavily against the ground, his entire body twitching and spasming. He glanced at the Little Demon Empress’s ice-cold face and his entire body started trembling in fear. His expression warped into one of abject terror, as if he had seen a ghost.
“You… could not possibly… could not possibly…” Duke Ming stuttered, his face and lips losing all their color. Given his might and power, if he went all out in a fight against the Little Demon Empress, he could definitely still hold his own for a period of time. But when he used the Blood Escape technique, he had lost a lot of blood essence. Not only did this injure his innate strength, it would also put him in a severely weakened state for the next few days.
At this time, even a single Mu Yubai could consign Duke Ming to death with a twitch of his fingers, much less the Little Demon Empress.
The first time he had used the Blood Escape, he had managed to run away successfully.
This time, not only had he not succeeded in his endeavor, he had even wasted all of that blood essence for nothing, putting himself in even more dire straits.
The Little Demon Empress’ eyes were like two chips of ice. Her hand lifted up and fell again, as a cluster of golden flames mercilessly struck the location of Duke Ming’s dantian.
Boom!!
The flames blew apart and the ruthless Golden Crow flames crazily surged into Duke Ming’s profound veins. The flames mercilessly incinerated the profound veins that had been drastically weakened by his loss of blood essence… Duke Ming’s incomparably miserable and wretched howls rang out into the sky, they were so shrill that he felt like his throat was about to be ripped apart. Moreover, all the profound strength and profound arts that he had painstakingly cultivated for nearly a thousand years were being swiftly burned away by those cruel Golden Crow flames…
The faces of everyone present warped in fear as a bone-tingling chill was sent down their spines… For people on their level, having one’s profound strength crippled was a fate even more dreadful than death.
The Golden Crow flames only stopped burning once they reduced Duke Ming’s profound veins to cinders. Duke Ming did not lose consciousness, but he had lost nearly all his profound strength, so his ability to endure pain was only a small fraction of what it had been before. His face was so distorted that he looked like an evil spirit and his body was curled up into a fetal position. From his trembling lips, he issued a voice that was incomparably weak but also extremely malicious, “Huan Caiyi… even if this duke… descends into the depths of the netherworld… I… will never let you off!!”
“I’m afraid you won’t have the chance.” The Little Demon Empress said, her voice so cold that it cut to the bone, “Because once you reach the netherworld, the ancestors of our Illusory Demon Imperial Family will not let you off either, and neither will the ancestors of all the Guardian Families. In fact, even your own ancestors will not have mercy on you!!”
“ARGHHHHHHHH!!” Duke Ming’s blood-curdling howl of frustration and hate was as desolate and hopeless as any demon’s.
The Little Demon Empress raised a palm and she made a simple gesture with her finger as four beams of fire shot towards Duke Ming’s arms and legs. They instantly charred his limbs black and one last beam of fire shot directly into his mouth, causing all of his teeth to explode… and before the fragments could even fall to
the ground, they had already been burned up in midair.
Duke Ming’s eyes rolled back as his whole body went rigid and he directly passed out due to the extreme pain.
It was during a warm spring afternoon, but Mu Yubai and the rest who were watching felt their entire bodies go cold. They had slowly and cautiously crept closer… but Duke Ming’s miserable state did not elicit the slightest bit of pity from them.
Because the sins that he had committed could not be repaid even if the cruelest punishments on the earth was inflicted on him!
“Little Demon Empress, why didn’t you kill him?” Mu Feiyan asked cautiously. The Little Demon Empress had not taken Duke Ming’s life, she had only crippled his profound strength.
Moreover, she had also destroyed all four of his limbs and all of his teeth, so he would not be able to take his own life even if he wanted to.
“He caused my royal father to die, killed my royal brother, brought the clan of the Demon Emperors to the brink of extinction, nearly consigned the Yun Family to the abyss, and plunged our entire Illusory Demon Realm into a hundred years of chaos… With crimes of this magnitude, killing him like this would simply be doing him a favor!”
“Oh, I won’t let him die. In fact, this empress will make sure that he lives on no matter what! For the next hundred years! And during these hundred years, this empress will ensure that each and every day, every single second of his life, will be filled with the cruelest and most painful tortures imaginable!”
Mu Feiyan fiercely fought down the shudder that threatened to course through his body.
Everyone else felt their bodies tense up and they dared not even breathe too loudly.
“Furthermore, as Yun Che has said before. A living person is far more useful than a dead person can ever be.” The Little Demon Empress glanced to the side and did not spare Duke Ming a further glance, “Patriarch Mu, how much longer will it be before the Yun Family’s Space Splitting Ring can be used again?”
Mu Feiyan’s words practically tumbled over each other as he replied, “This old man has personally confirmed this sound transmitted with Yun Qinghong yesterday. Within ten days, the Space Splitting Ring will be fully operational. After that, it can make a single trip to the Profound Sky Continent.”